In article <9303160556.AA04021 at kona.cc.mcgill.ca>, IVAN at MNI.lan.mcgill.ca writes...
>>Not true. The platform is incredibly easy to program for.
>Definitely a right-brain environment. As for it being in science
>labs, maybe you'd like to check out the Lyman Duff Microbiology
>Building at McGill? They have several.
No one is denying that the NeXT is easy to use and program. The problem
is that the vendor is in bad shape. The bottom line is that a machine
isn't worth much if you can't get parts to repair it!
>NextStep, when it's released for the 486 (and other platforms) will
^^^^
>likely garner a strong (though small) user base across several
>platforms and in several tasks, including uses in the laboratory.
Now this is really getting out of hand - vaporware is not a good reason to
buy into a platform.
Getting back to the original question, which was what Unix workstation
should one buy now, the obvious choices are SGI, Sun, HP, DEC (the AXP, not
the VAX or MIPS based DECstations), and IBM (really). These are your
choices not because of quality, ease of programming, or ease of use, but
because these companies (even DEC and IBM) will still be around over the
effective lifespan of the workstation.
David Mathog
mathog at seqvax.bio.caltech.edu
Manager, sequence analysis facility, biology division, Caltech